AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik criticizes Özgür Özel: 'Kılıçdaroğlu at least pretended to be a democrat'

AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik answered questions from journalists at his party's "AKP Headquarters Organization Department Provincial Chairs Working Camp".

Criticizing CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, Çelik described Özel's use of the term "coup" as a reflection of the "Yassıada mentality."

"TURKEY HAS NO PROBLEM REGARDING ITS REGIME"

Çelik stated the following in his remarks:

"Because they are not accustomed to democratic culture, whenever an issue arises in Turkey that needs to be resolved within democratic life, they constantly try to present it as a 'coup attempt.' One of the biggest problems in Turkey is that the CHP has long turned ordinary debates within democratic life into a regime debate. Since we came to power, whenever we have tried to make improvements or reforms to the system on any issue, the CHP has turned it into a regime debate. There is a full consensus on our regime in Turkey; Turkey has no problem regarding its regime."

"IT IS WRONG TO CHARACTERIZE THEM AS A COUP"

"Who is the political organization that has provided the greatest support to those coup or tutelage attempts? The CHP. While they have such a tradition, it is wrong for them to characterize every crisis that may arise in democratic and state life as a 'coup'."

"EVEN BEHIND THE KILIÇDAROĞLU ERA"

Ömer Çelik continued his remarks as follows:

"They emerged claiming 'change,' but this has shown that there has actually been no political software change in the CHP. They only changed the biography. When the CHP Chairman's biography changes, they think it is a political change. Political change is a change related to the handling of political ideas, the approach to the democratic system, and the approach to debates within the democratic system. The initial statements made by Özel are even more regressive than those of the Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu era. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had not learned to maintain a democratic tone, but at least he pretended to have learned it. When all of this is absent, what happens? Now, immediately characterizing a debate as a coup and attacking the political legitimacy of our President is just a continuation of the activity of poisoning democracy and the political system that we have been accustomed to since the Yassıada mentality."

Emphasizing that Turkey's democracy is mature, the system is working, and the rules and principles of the work to be done are clear, Çelik said, "The ways of resolution within the system, the legal remedies, and what the legislative body will do are clear. Our President is at the head of his duty with very high legitimacy and national will."

"THE CHP IS THE SAME CHP"

Speaking about CHP Chairman Özel's promise of primary elections, Çelik noted:

"We saw these during the election period; the previous Chairman also spoke of 'democracy and pluralism,' yet they began to threaten those who did not think like them and create space for terrorist organizations in a way that would poison democracy. The current one also came and said, 'We will determine it through primary elections,' and then says, 'There is not enough time for primary elections.' That is why we say this is not a political change; this is a biography change. The CHP is the same CHP. You will see that some approaches more authoritarian than the previous ones will emerge. Kılıçdaroğlu at least pretended to be a 'democrat'; the first thing this one gave up on was his own word. It is an absurdity for a political party to make such ambitious statements about state life while failing to manage its own internal contradictions."

News Source: AA